4 reasons to take creatine

The market disposes of many supplements, and the tendency is to be apprehensive when it comes to buying them and to have many questions regarding which one you should use. As a general rule, there are two types of supplements that stand out and that are usually very popular: one of them is protein, the other one is creatine.First of all, you should consider the benefits they can bring, and only after that should you pick them until you have a nice range of products to add to your diet and workout plan.

Take note of the four reasons why you should consider adding creatine to your supplementation plan:

1. It increases the workout’s intensity.

One of the creatine’s benefits is the fact that it helps with your exercise, putting more intensity into it; it’ll give you extra strength so you’re able to perform more reps or more sets of exercises, something that wouldn’t be as easy to do without adding creatine. The intensity will increase, and, as a consequence, it is only natural that you can widen the possibility of building more muscle mass, quickly and effectively. It may seem weird, but the truth is that, in some cases, size really matters, because for many people, strengthening and building bigger muscles are the main reasons why they go to the gym. Taking protein is very important, but accordingly to investigators from the Washington State University, creatine can also make a difference. A study has determined that the participants who took creatine obtained bigger muscle mass gains, due to a significant increase in the myogenic satellite cells – important for the regeneration and overall maintenance of the skeletal muscle. This is the main reason why bodybuilders are so fond of creatine.

2. It increases your will to work out more often.

The frequency with which you work out during the week is important so your muscles are constantly under stimulation and that will allow them to grow faster. Creatine helps to speed up muscle recovery, which means that your resting period doesn’t need to be as extended in every workout. If it usually takes you a few days to recover between workouts, by taking creatine you’ll be able to shorten the amount of time you’ll need for your muscles to recover, and reduce it to, for example, one day off. Throughout the time you’ll see that you’re working out much more and that it’ll make a difference when it comes to results, month after month.

3. It improves your athletic performance.

Better muscular contraction means enhanced sports performance. If you’re involved in sports that require stop and go type of activity, (high-intensity, short-duration) creatine is going to come in very handy for you. By making sure your body has enough phosphocreatine stored, you’ll prevent weaknesses that may occur after a few sprints, for example. One other example: a player in a game of hockey taking creatine would not only be able to go harder with each shift he’s on the ice, but he’ll be able to last through more shifts total throughout the game.

4. It speeds up your metabolism.

Taking a creatine supplement while you’re on a fat loss diet may be a little controversial. If, on the one hand, this supplement causes a natural weight increase (because your body will be retaining more fluids), on the other can it may also work as a fuel source, once it’ll help you increase your performance during cardio exercises and will also help you burn more calories. Besides that, a fat loss diet usually requires a decrease in carb intake, which often translates into lower energy levels throughout the day, making it harder for you to reach the results you want during your workout sessions. Creatine may help “cover up” the feeling of natural fatigue during the fat loss process.

If your main goal is strengthening your muscles and increasing your sports performance, you should consider taking creatine.

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References:

Shannon Clark, Top 5 Reasons to use Creatine, February 2010, translation and adaptation of the original versionJames Demedeiros, 6 Reasons You Should Be Taking Creatine, n/d, translation and adaptation of the original versionVierck JL1, Icenoggle DL, Bucci L, Dodson MV., The effects of ergogenic compounds on myogenic satellite cells, May 2003, translation and adaptation of the original version [*]